Mike Hodges
| Mike Hodges | |
|---|---|
| Born | Michael Tommy Hodges 29 July 1932 Bristol, England United Kingdom |
| Occupation | Film director, screenwriter |
Mike Hodges (born 29 July 1932, Bristol, England) is an English screenwriter, film director, playwright and novelist. His films as writer/director include Get Carter, Pulp, The Terminal Man and Black Rainbow; as director his films include Flash Gordon, Croupier and I'll Sleep When I'm Dead. His theatre plays include Soft Shoe Shuffle (1985) and Shooting Stars and Other Heavenly Pursuits (2000) which was also adapted for BBC radio. Other radio plays include King Trash (2004). His first novel, Watching The Wheels Come Off, was published in 2010 by John Blake Publishing.
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[edit] Life and work
After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant and serving out his two years’ National Service on the lower deck of a Royal Navy minesweeper, Hodges managed to get a job in British television as a Teleprompter operator. This allowed him to observe the workings of the studios and time to start writing scripts. One of these was Some Will Cry Murder for ABC’s Armchair Theatre series. Although never performed it served to get him enough writing commissions to quit his job as a technician. After that he quickly gravitated to producer/director status with series like Sunday Break for ABC Television, World In Action for Granada Television and the arts programmes Tempo and New Tempo for Thames Television. Again for Thames Television he wrote, directed and produced two filmed thrillers, Rumour (1969) and Suspect (1970). These films formed the basis for the creation of Euston Films; the influential television production company that continued into the 1980s. These two films also led to his being asked to write and direct Get Carter, which has been described as 'one of the great British gangster films of all time',[1] and Flash Gordon which has enjoyed cult status ever since.[2] Interspersed with his cinema work are some interesting and critically successful television films including The Manipulators (1973), Squaring The Circle (1984; scripted by Tom Stoppard), Dandelion Dead (1993; scripted by Michael Chaplin), and The Healer (1994; scripted by GF Newman).[3]
[edit] Selected filmography
[edit] Feature Films
- Get Carter (1971)
- Pulp (1972)
- The Terminal Man (1974)
- Damien: Omen II (1977 - screenplay)
- Flash Gordon (1980)
- And the Ship Sails On (1983 - English version of Fellini's film)
- Morons from Outer Space (1985)
- A Prayer for the Dying (1987)
- Black Rainbow (1989)
- Croupier (1998)
- I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (2003)
[edit] Television
- Rumour (1969)
- Suspect (1970)
- The Manipulators (1972)
- Missing Pieces (1982)
- Squaring The Circle (1984)
- Florida Straits (1986)
- W.G.O.D. (1985)
- Dandelion Dead (1993)
- The Healer (1994)
- Murder By Numbers (2001 - documentary)
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Mike Hodges at the Internet Movie Database
- Mike Hodges at AllRovi
- Interview at The Guardian
- Interview by Dan Lybarger
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